SHS Continues to See a Rise in the Graduation Rate

During the 2007-2008 school year, Sheridan High School had a graduation rate of 76 percent, which prompted the school to begin interviewing parents and students about what needed to be done differently to improve the graduation rate. The school also looked at national data and research in regard to graduating a higher percentage of their students. SHS Principal Dirlene Wheeler explains that in just a few years, they've raised their graduation rate by almost 13 percent.

District Two Superintendent Craig Dougherty says that graduating from high school and earning a diploma is absolutely critical in today's job market.

Wheeler said that the statistics show that when kids drop out of high school, half of them between the ages of 16 to 24 are unemployed and that dropouts are 5 percent more likely to experience poor health, and that their life expectancy is 6 to 8 years less than the average citizen.